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The Relationship Between Adult Self-Efficacy and Scientific Competencies: the Moderating Effect of Gender

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Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between adult self-efficacy in science and scientific competencies of Taiwanese citizens. Probability proportional to size sampling was used to select 1830 participants between the ages of 18 and 70. The research methods employed was survey research; analysis was conducted using hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that gender and self-efficacy have an explanatory power for scientific competencies. The predictive power of self-efficacy for scientific competencies was different for male and female groups. This study proposes several suggestions regarding science education policies in accordance with the research findings.

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Acknowledgments

The work reported here was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under grants NSC 101-2511-S-110-007-MY3. The authors also greatly appreciate the valuable suggestions of Prof. Huann-shyang Lin and the journal reviewers and editors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for General Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, No. 70, Lianhai Rd., Gushan Dist., Kaohsiung City, 80424, Taiwan

    Chun-Yen Tsai & Tai-Chu Huang

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  1. Chun-Yen Tsai
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  2. Tai-Chu Huang
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Correspondence to Chun-Yen Tsai.

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Tsai, CY., Huang, TC. The Relationship Between Adult Self-Efficacy and Scientific Competencies: the Moderating Effect of Gender. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 16 (Suppl 1), 91–106 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-017-9869-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-017-9869-4

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